Ajrakh printing is a prominent form of woodblock printing that originated in the present-day province of Sindh, Pakistan, and neighboring Indian districts of Kutch in Gujarat and Barmer in Rajasthan. It is embedded into the culture of the Sindhi people owing to the traditions of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation.
Ajrakh is a time-honored emblem for the local communities of Kachchh. Nomadic pastoralist and agricultural communities like the Rabaris, Maldharis, and Ahirs wear Ajrakh printed cloth as turbans, lungis, or stoles. People gave them as a gift for the Muslim festival of Eid, for bridegrooms, and for other special occasions.
Origin
The term ‘ajrakh’ is derived from the Arabic word ‘azrak’ which can mean ‘indigo’ or ‘blue’. This reflects Sindh’s historic reputation as a dominant producer of indigo dye and illustrates the extensive use of the indigo shade of blue in traditional ajrakh print, which is still common to this day.
History
Ajrakh printing evolved as a parallel form of printing. The early settlers in Sindh and India lived along the Indus river sometime in 3300 BCE.
Apart from the settlers of the ancient civilization, ajrakh printing blossomed in India in the 16th century. The king of Kutch’s recognition of the intricate textile art spawned invitations for Khatri families practicing ajrakh printing to populate uninhabited lands in Kutch. Some families eventually migrated to Rajasthan and settled primarily in and around Barmer. Maldhari community is the one who traditionally created ajrakh printed products. The Maldharis are an ethnic community of semi-nomadic herdsmen from Gujarat and Rajasthan who have since settled in the Banni Grasslands Reserve of the Kutch district, Gujarat. This tradition still continues today and exemplifies the customary interactions of India’s myriad ethnic cultures.
During the British Raj, the Khatri community in the Bombay Presidency, a province of British India that included present-day Gujarat, excelled at the art of resist dyeing and ajrakh printing. Dhamadka village was once the hub of ajrak printing but was left devastated following the Gujarat earthquake of 2001. Government and non-government initiatives ‘moved’ the entire village to the newly formed Ajrakhpur village.
Colors and motifs
The essence of ajrakh printing is to celebrate nature in terms of the vast use of natural raw materials and resources and the representation of its motifs and colors. For millennia artisans have made use of natural dyes that include both vegetable dyes and mineral dyes, with Indigo being the key dye. To produce the deep intense colors of ajrakh, such as extracts of the madder plant for red and extracts from the true indigo plant for the popular indigo color. The natural indigo blue used to be the most common color in Ajrakh. It’s healing – it’s famous to keep the wearer warm in winter and cool in summer. It is resilient – the blue is extremely long-lasting.
Trefoil
The art of block printing in India had a heavy Mughal influence when it came to motifs, especially in the 17th century. The motifs featured in ajrakh print are mainly elaborate geometric jewel-like shapes that incorporate motifs that symbolize nature, such as stars and flowers. Noorjehan Bilgrami, an esteemed artist, textile designer, researcher, and author, has played a major role in the modern-day perpetuation of the art and craft of ajrakh printing. Of a common motif found in ajrakh print, the trefoil, she writes that it “is thought to be composed of three sun discs fused together to represent the inseparable unity of the Gods of sun, water, and earth.”
Star
Star is a very popular design element in Islamic art including Ajrakh. Artisans mostly use 8 pointed stars in Ajrakh. Here you can see many variations of the 8 pointed star pattern in a single block design – an outline of stars, flat-surfaced stars, stars with curved lines, and stars formed by connecting a pattern of dots.
This 8 pointed star is formed by overlapping two squares – the second square tilted at an angle and then connecting the corner points of these overlapped squares. The spaces between the stars are further ornamented with abstract vegetal motifs and other geometric shapes.
Paisley
Paisley design in Ajrakh is the teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper end seen in the border here. Traditional Ajrakh has many elements borrowed from the architecture of the Mughal and Persian eras. But the famous Paisley design came very late into Ajrakh.
Techniques
As ajrakh printing is a form of block printing, the production technique is, to an extent, similar. Designs are first carved into wooden blocks before being dipped in dye and printed onto fabric. Usually, wooden blocks, known as bunta, used in the first stage of printing are carved out of shisham, more commonly known as Indian rosewood, and wooden blocks used in the later stages of printing are carved out of teakwood. During the monsoon season, the blocks are soaked in mustard oil to prevent expansion that affects the designs that were painstakingly carved by artisans.
Preparation of fabric
Artisans diligently prepare the fabric before beginning the meticulous printing process. The fabric is first washed to rid it of starch and impurities. It is then soaked in a mixture of camel dung, seed oil, and water, which not only softens the fabric but also acts as a bleaching agent.
The fabric is then tied together and stored for 5-10 days, depending on weather conditions. The quality of the fabric can be determined by the pungency of the smell that emanates from the stored fabric, which is comparable to the popular Indian condiment, mango pickle. This is a result of the fibers of the cloth reacting with the seed oil. The fabric is then laid out in the sun to dry before undergoing a second treatment of a mixture containing oil and sodium carbonate. The fabric is then stored overnight before being washed – traditionally, this took place in the Indus River – before being soaked in sakun, a mixture of dried lemon, castor oil, molasses, tamarisk gall, and water. Multiple treatments ensure that the fabric is able to consistently absorb and retain dyes resulting in ajrak’s signature deep colors.
Unlike block printing, which sometimes uses wooden blocks to print dye onto fabric, the use of these blocks in ajrakh printing is to apply a resist that outlines the design.
After each application of the resist, artisans dye the fabric in a single color before washing and drying it for the next dyeing stage using a different color. Artisans repeat this elaborate process until the entire piece of fabric is complete with ajrakh’s signature deep colors.
Revival and exhibition
Modern-day improvements to the manufacture of ajrakh printed fabrics, such as the use of eco-friendly synthetic dyes and the invention of machinery that reduces production time, jeopardize the traditions of textile art. However, the use of traditional natural dyes is resurgent, attributable to the global urban market’s recognition and appreciation of the age-old textile art whereby designs and production techniques have stood the test of time. Numerous government and non-government initiatives continue to contribute to the conservation and sustenance of ajrakh printing’s traditions and the lifestyle of its artisans.
Various NGOs, textile companies, and individual designers have supported the revival and continuation of the region’s traditional crafts.
More recently, a new approach has been taken to enable and encourage local artisans to work directly with their markets and become entrepreneurs and designers in their own right. Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya (KRV) opened in 2005 and has had 136 graduates. Out of these, fifteen were block printing artisans, and most are successfully innovating for a ready urban and international market. A new school has recently been founded by KRV founder Judy Frater, Somaiya Kala Vidya (SKV) based in Adipur southern Kutch. SKV aims to continue to focus on design education but also incorporate a strong business and marketing curriculum.
The Khatris in Ajrakhpur and Dhamadka learn block printing from their fathers at the age of between ten and fifteen when they finish school. Often they are also natural entrepreneurs. With the marketing and contemporary design skills added, their opportunities are vast. These villages today are buzzing with new ideas and creativity.
Global Impact
Throughout the years, across the Sindh civilization and pertaining to the publicity and recognition that it has been promoted to, it has enhanced its global appeal through national and international markets. The business suffers a considerably low amount of risks and production threats. This ensures their steady rise and dominance in terms of profit.
References
Ajrakh Printing- History (unnatisilks.com)
Ajrakh Blockprint | Khamir
Gujarat – Ajrak-printing – About Ageless Ajrak Printing | strandofsilk.com
